With the help of the vehicle and the backing of the Guard Department's credentials, the group moved along quite smoothly and quickly reached the rooftop of the building.
The spot that Chen chose was an excellent sniping position. The field of view was extremely open, allowing them to directly observe the target point in the distance.
If there was really any problem, it was probably the sunlight reflecting off the windows, which looked somewhat glaring.
"All right! Shirou, hurry up and fire one shot, then we can head back."
After reaching the rooftop, Exusiai immediately pointed ahead and said that.
Everyone else: "?"
Maybe it was just their imagination, but it felt like this useless angel was saying something rather strange.
"But Exusiai, you are pointing the wrong way. The building you are pointing at right now is Penguin Logistics headquarters."
Even though Shirou noticed from the beginning that she was pointing in the wrong direction, seeing that she was actually aiming at Penguin Logistics still felt absurd.
If he really fired that shot, they would probably all lose their jobs.
Well, not exactly. He had other work, and Sora's main profession was being an idol, so it would be everyone except Sora losing their jobs.
As for Croissant's street stall business, there was no point mentioning it. She occasionally made money, but every now and then she would impulsively buy all sorts of bizarre things and spend everything she had.
She and Exusiai were both the type who could never really save money. In the entire Penguin Logistics team, only Texas and Sora gave him some peace of mind.
"No way!?"
After hearing Shirou's words, Exusiai narrowed her eyes as much as possible and stared at the distant building. It really did look somewhat familiar.
By Laterano, if she actually blew that place up, she would probably have to flee Lungmen overnight and return to Laterano.
"This idiot."
Texas covered her forehead with a pained expression. Beside her, Sora let out the exact same kind of sigh.
"And besides, no normal person would think about using an attack with that much destructive power in the middle of the city, right?"
Looking at the scene, Shirou could not help making a small complaint.
Still, immediately suggesting they use a massive attack really did suit Exusiai's personality.
"Shirou, get a grip. Exusiai is the kind of person who blew up her own school. Do you think she would care about something like that?"
Croissant added from the side.
"...Ehehe?"
Seeing all her teammates criticizing her, Exusiai attempted to act cute and muddle through it.
"Go wait in the shade for now. I will first take a look at the situation over there."
Unfortunately, Shirou did not fall for that act, but he let the topic pass anyway and told everyone to wait somewhere shaded to avoid the sun.
Under these conditions and at this distance, everyone clearly understood what they were supposed to do, so nobody argued. They directly went to rest in the shade while also watching what Shirou planned to do.
Shirou, limited edition Guard Department duty mode.
"This is Shirou. I have already arrived at the destination. The shooting field of view is clear and unobstructed."
Once he entered work mode, Shirou put away the smile on his face and connected to the communicator with a serious expression while reporting the situation.
Although the sunlight reflecting off the building's glass windows was rather glaring, it was not a problem for him.
It was only a glass window after all. Even reinforced glass could be blasted apart directly, so it did not matter.
The reason he came ahead of time was because he wanted to scout the situation at the scene.
A distance of five hundred meters was not very far. If support was truly needed, he could arrive very quickly.
"Understood. Stay on standby and rest for now. We have already received information from Penguin Logistics and are preparing to head over."
Chen's voice came through the communicator earpiece. Shirou could vaguely hear the sounds of metal clashing, clearly indicating that the Guard Department was preparing weapons and equipment for deployment.
"Understood."
After receiving Chen's instructions, Shirou retreated into the shade and camped there together with the Penguin Logistics crew.
Although he did not mind basking in the sun, everyone else was squatting there together. Him standing alone in the sunlight would have looked somewhat strange.
Besides, it was inconvenient to check his phone under direct sunlight. Since Yith had already found the key evidence and sent it over, he should have received a copy as well.
"So what is happening now?"
Watching Shirou stare toward a certain building for quite a while before walking back over, Sora looked somewhat confused.
Guard Department personnel probably did not work like this, right?
Oh, right, Shirou was actually from Penguin Logistics. Then it made sense.
Right now Shirou was wearing that Guard Department uniform, and he honestly looked quite convincing in it. Sora had almost forgotten that he was actually part of Penguin Logistics.
"I am checking the message Yith sent."
Waving the phone in his hand, Shirou replied.
Even after all this time, the phone inherited from Swire was still incredibly durable. It had gone through several battles alongside Shirou and remained completely unharmed.
Seeing that something important was happening, everyone gathered around. To avoid any awkwardness, Shirou deliberately handed the phone to Texas and let her operate it while he watched from behind.
Good eyesight really did let people do whatever they wanted.
"huh? Shirou, your social circle is actually pretty wide."
Looking at Shirou's phone, the first thing Exusiai noticed was the long list of friends and group chats.
"Leaving Penguin Logistics aside, the Guard Department, the office, and Fuyuki Store alone already take up more than half of it. Then further down there are people like Lin Yuhsia, Snowsant, Jaye, Aak... and many others."
"Who would have thought? Shirou actually has this many acquaintances out there. No wonder he is always making a bunch of lunchboxes and taking them out."
"So they all ended up in these people's stomachs!"
Especially the people from the Guard Department...
As for Fuyuki Store, the others knew about it, but they had never gone there.
Shirou had been worried that they would be a bad influence on the children, so he tactfully rejected their suggestion to visit.
However, Texas later mentioned that every time Shirou went there, he would change out of his Penguin Logistics jacket. Presumably he was worried that some people whom the girls had beaten up before might come looking for trouble with them, or even directly target the children.
It could only be said that Shirou was really awkward in his own way. Something he could have simply explained directly, yet he insisted on refusing them in such a roundabout and irritating manner.
"That is true. I do not even know that many people."
Croissant added beneath Exusiai. This was a posture they often used when gossiping together, so she did not really mind the oversized "spotlight" above her.
"..."
Faced with the group's train of thought, Shirou took a deep breath to calm himself down.
After all, they were old acquaintances. He could not just hit them directly. That would have looked too ugly. He really should have opened Yith's chat log first before handing over the phone.
"Is it this one?"
Unlike the others, Texas operated the phone and scrolled for a bit before finding Yith's profile picture. In reality, she had found it long ago, but she had been a little curious about how wide Shirou's social circle was, so she casually scrolled up and down first.
There really were a lot of contacts. Though she did not think much about it, that Lappland...
At that moment, Texas recalled how Shirou had always carried Lappland's scent on him before. In the end, she restrained the impulse to immediately blacklist Lappland and instead tapped on Yith's icon.
Yith Who Does Not Want Overtime:
"The material is a bit complicated, so I only summarized a few points that would be enough to get the Guard Department moving. I will slowly organize the rest later."
After Texas opened the files, everyone held their breath while looking at the videos and audio recordings Yith had sent.
Most of them were evidence showing how those people dealt with infected individuals in the past, as well as how they arranged for Reunion members to stir up trouble in Lungmen.
Looking at those materials, even someone as carefree as Exusiai could no longer smile.
"This really is..."
There was no need to mention Shirou's reaction. Although his narrowed eyes were fixed on the phone screen, the pressure radiating from him could still be felt by the other four people.
"Tsk tsk, looking at this logo now really makes it seem like a demon. Look, it even has a pair of horns. Does it not?"
Sensing the dangerous gaze behind her, Croissant swallowed nervously and tried to change the subject.
"...It really does."
After hearing Croissant's words, Sora looked confused for a moment before nodding in agreement.
And it was not only Sora. The others felt the same way.
After all... the logo of Ironbull Logistics was basically just a simplified Forte hoof symbol.
Hearing those words come out of Croissant's mouth was admittedly rather amusing.
Croissant vaguely sensed that the people around her were secretly laughing, though she did not realize what was strange about it. Still, the atmosphere had become much less heavy, which satisfied her greatly.
"Seeing this much is enough. The Guard Department is already on the way here, so all of you should prepare yourselves a little too."
Recovering himself, Shirou decisively took back the phone. Those things were not suitable for children to see.
Even though they were all older than him, Shirou still hoped Penguin Logistics could remain the carefree Penguin Logistics it always had been.
"All right... Shirou, do you think these people will obediently surrender and get arrested? Or will they resist?"
Seeing Shirou put away the phone, nobody intended to continue watching. Those materials really were filled with too many negative emotions.
Thanks to Croissant calling the Forte symbol a demon earlier, the atmosphere was not quite as oppressive anymore, but it still affected everyone to some extent.
Even Exusiai, the group's resident chaos lover, ended up asking that question.
"Who knows? If they peacefully accept arrest, then naturally that would be best. But... they probably anticipated all this long ago, right? That is why Chen arranged so much manpower and even borrowed Penguin Logistics' assistance."
Faced with the question, Shirou instinctively believed the other side would resist.
Not just him. Chen, Hoshiguma, and Swire thought the same way.
From the fact that they placed Originium spikes on infected people, causing Oripathy to worsen and even explode whenever those infected were injured or accidentally triggered the spikes, their methods were already obvious.
Of course, it was also possible that they simply did not see infected people as human beings, which was why they could act so ruthlessly.
Either possibility was enough to prove just how cruel they were.
People like that would definitely not sit around waiting to die. There was bound to be a fierce battle ahead.
Thinking about this made Shirou feel somewhat miserable, though he still forced himself to crack a very cold joke.
What troubled him was not sympathy for those people, but the fact that they were about to turn a peaceful urban district into a battlefield...
Under the arrangements of the Guard Department and Wei Yenwu's people, civilians would probably not be affected too heavily. But the damaged buildings and the lingering divide left behind would certainly remain in people's memories.
And these people represented Reunion, an organization made up of infected individuals.
People had always believed only what they personally saw. Combined with how infected people were already disliked to begin with, it was easy to imagine that after this operation, the divide between ordinary Lungmen citizens and the infected would only grow even worse.
But he understood clearly that this was simply how society operated. Among the endless sea of people, there would always be individuals like this.
Maybe it was their environment. Maybe it was psychological factors. But those things were outside the scope of his concern.
"..."
Watching Shirou's expression, the group seemed to realize something, and nobody spoke.
The feeling was unpleasant, like being trapped inside a dense fog. They could vaguely make out the road ahead, yet the heavy mist prevented them from clearly seeing the scenery beyond it.
But they all understood that whatever lay ahead definitely was not a beautiful sight.
Otherwise, they would not feel this uncomfortable.
The four exchanged glances, after which Exusiai and Croissant took responsibility for launching the "attack."
"Hey! Shirou, I am telling you, do not think so much! Just go for it and get it done! Look at me, whenever I run into someone with a shield now, I just throw explosives straight into their face. Did I not completely solve a century-old problem?"
Exusiai moved right up to him and hooked an arm around Shirou's neck while speaking.
"Exactly, exactly. If brute force solves the problem, then all is well!"
Croissant also leaned in and hooked his other side.
"...Do you believe I will directly stamp my mark onto your foreheads with brute force?"
Although Shirou knew they were trying to comfort him, their methods and wording really ruined the mood.
After hearing his response, both girls immediately let go.
If it had been Texas or Sora, they might still have dared to tease them a little more, but with Shirou... he was usually the type who genuinely carried out what he said.
They had already witnessed the destructive power of his "stamp." Neither of them wanted to personally experience it outdoors.
"No, no, it is just that your mood looked kind of bad..."
To make sure Shirou would not actually hit them, the two hurriedly tried to appease him.
They were genuinely afraid he might accidentally "stamp" their heads with one careless motion.
"I know. That is why I did not directly hit you. Hurry back over to Texas and the others. Chen's side should be arriving soon, and I need to take position."
Shirou had long since grown accustomed to their antics.
Compared to other people, he was clearly much more tolerant toward Exusiai and Croissant. Or rather, perhaps his tolerance for all of Penguin Logistics was relatively high.
Still, he preferred it when they acted at least a little more serious. Otherwise, dealing with them most of the time was honestly exhausting.
Sigh... At this rate he really was starting to feel more and more like a mother hen. If this kept going, would things really be okay?